The Key
by MemoriesandSecrets
Summary: Alexia is a 16yo girl who runs to keep her and her younger sister safe from Souls. She finds more than a new life with the key her mother gave to her. At the moment T, may change. Based 4 years after The Host. Drama too. Wow, bad summary, better story
1. Run

**1. Run**

Mom pressed me and my little sister into the cupboard in the kitchen.

"_Stay here_!" she begged before she closed the door and I heard her feet scurrying out of the room.

We heard a muffled scream of pain and shock from the other room, and I shut my eyes tight and covered my sister's fear with my hand press over her mouth. I rocked her soothingly as much as I could in the enclosed space and kissed her face soothingly.

I felt her tears as they darted from her eyes and over her cheeks, colliding with my skin. She pressed my hand to her mouth more, knowing that she would soon start sobbing deafeningly. I fought back cries of my own; I had to be strong for her.

_How did we get here? _

I jolted as I heard the door rupture open.

"_WHERE_ ARE THEY?!"

"They aren't here! They're at a friend's house," I heard my mothers voice argue.

"DON'T LIE TO ME, HUMAN!"

"I'm _not_! They are not here! Now leave!"

Where are they?" The taunting voice was too composed.

My mother yelped in pain as her head crashed into the counter, I clasped my sister nearer and watched with wide, fearful eyes at my mothers pained face through the door cracks. The tears fell over of their own accord at my mother's fierce love for us; ardent enough for her to tolerate herself to be persecuted.

The Seeker left the room and, as soon as I heard the front door slam, I pushed my sister off me to the other end of the cupboard and hurled myself from it, landing on the floor beside my mothers weakened body.

"Mom?" I asked while I swept at my tears and ran my hands placidly over my mother's bruised face.

"They aren't like the others," her voice was barely that of a breath as she opened her eyes and surveyed me.

"Mom," I ducked my head into her shoulder and cried, showing her how much of a child I still was.

She rubbed my back as she moved to sit up, and pushed me away from her as she stood up, wincing with each inch of movement.

_Callous. Bastards. _Although it was one thought, my fury made each word a distinct verdict. 

Mom pulled all the cupboard doors open as she filled a backpack with food that would keep without refrigeration. She threw this pack on the table once it was filled and grabbed another bag and filled this with endless bottles of water. WE would need these most.

"You need to go; get as _far_ away from here as you can and _stay safe_! I love you _both_, but I have to let them take me," she hurriedly explained as she dashed around the room.

My little sister had left the cupboard and was hugging herself to my side. As soon as Mom stood still, she was dangling off her.

"I love you, baby girl," Mom kissed into her hair. "I love you both," she reached out for me and I all but ran to her encirclement.

"Put these on" Mom ordered after a few seconds. "You haven't got much time left."

"Come _with us_, Mom. We _need_ you," I begged in tears.

"I'm more a liability than an asset; I'm not as robust as you are anymore. When I say run, I mean to _run_! _Exactly_ that."

Mom was now dragging me and my sister through the house to the laundry where our backdoor opened to our garden.

"_Go_!" she cried.

"Mom. Mom I _can't_—"

"You _can_! And you _must_. You're our only _chance_," she wept.

I shook my head, tears flowing unrestricted down my face now as my little sister clung in my mother's arms. Mom released my sister long enough to pull the key locket from her own neck and pose it over mine.

She pulled my sister away from her and crouched down to plant fond kisses over her face, kissing my sisters tears away as well. When she released her, my sister simply stood there, shoulders shuddering from her sobs and quick uneven breaths echoing through the air.

"Go. Stay safe," Mom breathed as she pulled me to her.

She wrapped her arms tight around my body and I fell into her hold, burrowing my face in her neck and trying to deny my tears.

"Don't look back. I love you. Now go."

Both of our hearts shattered and tumbled to the earth with her words and I felt the tears overcome me. I cried into my mother's neck, holding her tight as if to burn the memory of her into my mind. I held her tight and grudgingly nodded.

I closed my eyes as I persuaded myself away from my mother, my existence, my protection, and grabbed my sister's hand, heaving her along beside me. We reached the back fence, and I bounded on top of the bins there and peeked over. When I had ensured that it was safe, I tugged my sister up and lowered her charily onto the other side of the barrier.

I climbed on top of the fence and swung my legs over to place my fall once my sister had relocated. With one last fleeting glimpse, I shot my eyes up and watched my mother as she stood there, crying and breaking while she watched her two daughters disappear to take flight.

I took a moment to even my breathing after I dropped to my feet and pinned my sister to the wall as two Soul's walked by, oblivious of the Human's hiding in the shadows not five feet from them.

Once it was clear again, I sized my sister's hand and ran around the block, sticking to the shadows from trees and buildings and becoming part of the dimness every time a Soul were to pass by.

We reached the road next to our house and raced across it to the forest across from the front of our house and hid in the gloom. My sister huddled to my side as I held her head to my shoulder and watched my mother being towed from our house.

_It used to be a home_, I reflected despondently.

"We'll find them, rest assured," the Seeker said.

I took in his tall, muscled frame and dark brown unkempt hair. His mouth was twisted into an evil sneer and his perspiring olive skin reflected the sun almost as much as his silver eyes. He was delicately menacing.

"You'll never find them. They will always run!"

So that's what we did.

I gently tugged on my sister's hand and kissed her cheek before we took off deep into the forest, looping around to emerge into the dulled streets a few blocks away. I found a car in next to no time and hot wired it, tucking my sleepy sister into the front seat and throwing our packs into the back.

I was careful to mind the sped on the road, knowing that's what got them suspicious and that it would only get us caught, but I couldn't help wanting to speed to get us as distant as I could and stay safe. Like my mother had said.

I looked over at my sister, fast asleep and curled into a ball in the passenger seat. I brushed my hand over her soft skin and pleaded for her purity and protection.

I bit back more tears that threatened to plummet and brushed away a few nomadic ones that had escaped.

_We're running Mom. We will always run. _


	2. Memories

**2. Memories**

"Mommy!"

I dropped the stick I'd been stabbing the small fire with and jumped to my sister's side.

"Shhh… shhh, shhh, shhh. I'm here, baby. I'm here. It's okay. I'm here," I crooned.

She started crying into my shoulder, wetting my shirt where her tears fell, and clutched me with her tiny hands.

"A… A… Al," she stuttered through her quiet sobs. "Alex! I'm sca… scared."

I think her whispering those words had a more daunting effect than if she were to say them normally. I shook my head to throw off some of my own fear before I pulled her into my lap and rocked her.

"It's alright, Annessa. I've got you; nothing is going to hurt you," I calmed her.

"What about Mommy, Alex; is Mommy okay, too?"

Her innocence to the world shocked me though it shouldn't have; my parents, older brother and I sheltered her from the occurrences as long as we could have. We all decided she was not to be sacrificed and did everything in our power to shield her. I wondered if maybe our parents made the same oath to each other regarding my brother, Brandon, and me because when Brandon and Dad went on a hike in the mountain ranges one day, he called Mom and told her to take us girls and go. So that's what she did.

Much like what I'm doing with Annessa now.

"She's fine, sweetie. Mommy just had to go with some people because they wanted her to help them with something."

"What did they want her help for?"

To change the world. To let them insert her with some stupid, filthy, revolting centipede. To make her a prisoner in her own mind. To turn her against her species. To steal her from her family; her husband and children.

But I could never tell her any of this.

Not yet.

"I don't know," I lied.

It felt wrong lying to her like this. Even when I knew she wouldn't understand. Even when it was for the best. Nonetheless, it still felt wrong.

The good thing about little sisters is that they believe anything you tell them, so Annessa just took my words and clung to them, trusting they were true.

I managed to rock her back to sleep, and once she was out cold, I laid her back across her bed and lifted her head on my leg. I sat there playing with her silky golden hair while she slept.

Annessa's eyes and lips twitched while she dreamt, and I watched for any signs of a nightmare, but she only smiled and contracted her fingers and legs as if she were holding hands and running.

I soon succumbed to empty sleep as my body descended and set flat on the cold hard ground in the rock cave we were using as shelter. I listened to my sister's even, peaceful breathing and let it lull me, allowing me to sleep.

"_Be careful!" my mother called to me and my brother as we tumbled our way across the hot LA. Sand and into the oncoming salt waves. _

"_We will be, Mom!" Brandon called as he jumped out of my grasp and leapt to his feet. _

_I stared up at him as he stared down at me, both our features just as playfully challenging. My mother and father both laughed and Annessa had cried for Brandon to leave me alone when he seized me over his shoulder and ran into the ocean with me. _

_With my legs pinned down his front and my upper body swinging over his back, I whacked him on the back, screaming._

"_PUT ME DOWN! Please? Brandon, please, I hate heights and I hate water, especially the ocean!" I ceased my complaints as he dunked us both under. _

_He let me go while we were still consumed by the sea and I felt my heart falter my hands dashing around me trying to find my brother. My head breached the surface and I spotted Brandon. I scrambled my way over to him and clung to his broad shoulders. _

_My lungs were gasping for air and I rested my forehead on his shoulder while he wrapped his arms around me to carry me out of the sea. _

"_I…hate... water," I growled between breaths. _

_Brandon just laughed and kissed my cheek. "Chill, baby sis; I'd never let anything hurt you." _

"_Mmm hmm. Anything that's not you," I mumbled. _

_He dropped me onto our rug and ruffled my hair while I grabbed a towel and started drying myself off._

_He laughed again and picked Annessa up when she jumped at him, securing her to his side and grinning at her. "What about you; you wanna go for a swim?" _

"_Yeah," she squeaked in her little child voice._

"_Come on, I'll race ya," Brandon said as he put her back down and started to pretend to run. _

_Annessa took off squealing and Brandon hung back a bit before she got close enough to the water and he ran up behind her and scooped her into his arms. He jumped into a wave and swung her up, allowing her to spread her arms and make believe she was a bird, before he threw her higher and caught her just before she hit the water, her giggles embraced the whole beach. _

"_ALEX!"_

Oh god, here we go_, I smiled._

_I had prepared myself for my sister's weight to fall down on top of me, and that was fine. What caught me off guard though was Brandon when he dropped down, too, and started rolling us through the sand. _

_We all laughed; deep, melodious, and piercing. _

"_Ah, my baby girl's. Love you," Brandon said as he pressed salty kisses to both mine and Annessa's foreheads. _

"_I'm too old for that, Brandon," I giggled as I gently shoved him away. _

"_Whatever," he murmured before he started jabbing my ribs and making me squirm. _

"_Stop it!" I snorted. _

"_Stop what?" he asked while he mockingly rested a finger over his chin to act as if he was thinking. _

_I couldn't move quickly enough from his reach before he poked me again. _

"_This, you mean?"_

"_Yes, that!" I cackled._

"_Okay, then. Since you asked."_

"_Thank you, bro," I ridiculed._

"_Your welcome, sis," he shot back as he offered a hand for me to get up. _

_I took it and he pulled me up in a fast movement, giving me a quick hug and turning to pick Annessa up again. _

"_I love you!" Annessa squealed as she pinched Brandon's and my cheeks. _

_We laughed and told her we loved her too as we pecked her on cheeks and walked back to our parents. _

"_We love you all," my Mom said as she pulled us into hers and Dad's embrace and kissed us on our heads like she did when we were little. _

"_We love you, too," Brandon and I breathed. _

_Brandon and I stood next to each other, Annessa in his arm who was, hugging me more or less around my head, and I arranged an arm around his back to hold Mom's hand. In my other hand, I held Dad's and he had his other arm wrapped around Mom's waist. We all looked at Annessa and smiled lightly at her little voice. _

"_I love you all! And I love everything the way it is, I never want anything to change." _

"Alex…"

I frowned as something knocked on my skull.

"Alex?"

I grimaced again when the knocking increased.

I heard a sigh and an "ALEX!"

"I'm awake!"

I had jolted up and laid straight back down when I knocked my head on something. I reached my hand up to disperse the pain and heard a soft moaning.

I opened my eyes and sat up slowly this time, looking around. I8 saw Annessa sitting back on her little feet and rubbing her head in her hands.

I felt like a bitch.

"Oh, Annessa. Baby, I'm so sorry!" I hopped up and sat by her side, pulling her hands away softly to see what damage I had caused.

It was a little scarlet, so I massaged it gently until she stop crying and nodded that she was okay.

"What did you want, sweetheart?" I asked softly.

Annessa pulled away from me and sat in front of me, staring up with her big wide azure puppy dog eyes.

"I'm hungry," she said simply.

I nodded.

"You're hungry. Right."

I emptied a backpack so I could fill it with as much as I could carry on my trip to the worm's grocery store and kissed Annessa on her head and told her not to go anywhere and if she heard something, to hide and not come out unless it was me. She nodded and gave me a hug before she took post to watch me until I was out of sight. Just before I removed myself from her view, I turned back and caught the kiss she blew to me. I pressed her kiss to my heart and returned it with one of my own, which she mirrored and pressed to her own heart.

I watched my feet the entire trip, being startled a few times by birds and other little forest critters scurrying across the earth.

"_I love you all! And I love everything the way it is, I never want anything to change."_ Her words replayed endlessly in my mind.

_I'm so sorry baby, but things have changed_, I resigned.

I tripped over a root lost in thought and pushed myself back off the ground with a moan.

_And Brandon… Brandon would have never let that happen to me. He'd never let anything happen to me. Oh, how I miss him. I hope he's all right. My big brother. My defender. My best friend. _

I mused over how it was his birthday the day he and Dad went for that hike eight months ago. He had turned twenty-one and wanted to go hiking, so Dad promised him he would take him. Brandon and I had always been close, stuck up for each other and stood by each other, and he had wanted me to go with him, but I had made some excuse about staying home and helping Mom clean and look after Annessa when we were really putting together a surprise party for him.

"_Love you, Mom," he said as he kissed her on the cheek. _

"_I love you, too, my baby," Mom smiled as she ran her hands through Annessa's hair who was jumping up at Brandon. "Settle, Annessa."_

_Brandon just chuckled and collected her in his arms, planting a raspberry on her neck and pretending to drop her to which she squealed and giggled excitedly._

"_Drop her, I drop you," I threatened jokingly. _

_Brandon replaced Annessa on the ground and macho walked his way over to me, thumping his chest and raising himself to his tallest length. _

"_Bring it, little girl," he challenged. _

_I bit back laughter and raised myself to my tallest height, thumping my chest and raising my fists towards him. _

"_Try it," I tested. _

_Brandon mock glared at me for a minute before he launched towards me and kicked my feet from under me. His arm wound around my back to stop me from falling as my hands shot to enclose around his neck. _

_We both laughed as he straightened me up. _

"_You win," I admitted._

"_I always do," he smiled. "Wish you could come, sweetie. I can't trip Dad; he's too old."_

_We both listened intently with open mouths for our father's argument. _

"_I'll give you old," he reverberated through the house. _

_I laughed as I gave Brandon a hug, "Have fun."_

"_Will do, sweetie. Love you."_

_We kissed each others cheek as we pulled back and punched fists. _

"_Love you, too," I told him._

At least he knew I loved him, and Dad.

_Oh, how I missed them_, I said to myself.


	3. Stars

**Stars**

I hid behind a large bush as a few cars drove by and until I was fairly certain there were no things to see me scamper from the bush. When I was satisfied with my assessment, I straightened up and walked as casually from my hiding spot as I could manage, and walked straight into the lion's lair.

I searched for what I needed nonchalantly (and found a toy bear and white tiger I decided to get Annessa for her fifth birthday in three days), and smiled politely at the monsters that passed me. I managed to keep my eyes on the ground most of the time, pretending to be considering the bottom shelves. My eyes didn't reflect silver like theirs did, and even though I had a slight scar on the back of my neck, I avoided as much eye contact as I could.

_My breathing was deep as I guided the knife along the base of my neck. I had to focus; I had to do this for her. It would help. And it doesn't make me one of them. I would explain this to her._

_Once I had the path the blade needed to follow, I took it back to the beginning and pressed it deeper until I felt it pierce through my skin. I needed it fairly deep; deep enough to scar, yet not deep enough to kill me. Ever so slowly, ever so carefully, I pressed it deeper. _

_I felt the warm blood dripping down my bare back; I had removed my shirt and bra for this, to save washing, and to save the explanation for my sister until I was ready. Until she was ready. _

_For now I could just tell her that I hurt myself. It wasn't technically a lie._

_The blood flowed faster, and I muffled my gasp of shock and scream of pain by chewing on the inside of my cheeks and lips. I had to be silent. _

_I screwed my nose up at the throbbing and for once didn't fight back the tears that began to flow. The further the blade traveled across my neck, the quicker the tears came. _

"Excuse me," a deep voice addressed me, calling me out of my reminiscence.

I looked up with a polite smile on my face and blinked a few times, realizing too late that doing so caused a few tears to fall, so I looked away and took hold of myself quickly.

"Are you okay?" I looked back up into a sun kissed face, boyish yet manly, which was framed by gorgeous shaggy black curls and deep brown eyes.

"I'm fine," I said, completely dazed.

He smiled at me and I could have sworn that the sun had come out to play. He was beautiful, and there was something about him that just didn't fit in with the rest of his species.

"What's your name?" he asked softly.

"Uh…" I was glad that I had noticed the weird names these things walked around calling themselves, and they were all nature founded, so I came up with one just for fun one night. "Whistling Moon."

He laughed a melodious laugh and smiled at me again. "Well, Whistling Moon, my names Singing Sun. Are you from the Flower World?"

Having absolutely no idea what he was raving on about, I nodded, my eyes still glued to his.

There was just someth—.

"Hey! We need to go," a slight, blonde figure walked up and grabbed him by the arm, glancing my way momentarily and smiling a genuine smile.

"Okay," he said as he looked down at her and grabbed her hand before turning back to me. "It was very nice meeting you, Whistling Moon." He grabbed my hand softly and brushed his lips across it gently, letting it go to swing back to my side as he left.

I stood there staring like an idiot while he jumped in a van and drove away. I remembered what I was here for and quickly finished my shopping, elated about the fact that the things never paid for anything, and walked outside again.

I subtly made my way to a bench and pretended to rearrange everything and pulled out a drink to sip on. I started walking along the footpath, and after I checked that I was free from eyes, I dove into the bush and waited there for a good minute; making certain that no one had actually seen me.

When I was convinced I was safe, I headed back to the cave, back to my little sister. The sun was setting, and I wanted to make sure I'd be back in time for her before it went pitch black, so I ran most of the way back.

"Annessa, I'm back," I announced as I walked into the cave and dropped the pack.

No answer.

"Annessa," I called a little more loudly.

My heart stopped beating and dropped in my chest.

"Crap!" I swore and took off back out of the cave, turning and squinting my eyes to see through the developing shadows.

I jumped into the forest again, running and spinning around trees and thickets in my frantic search for my sister.

"ANNESSA!"

_Oh god where is she?_

I stopped to catch my breath before I started to hyperventilate and ran my hands firmly across my face and through my hair, pulling at the roots.

"ANNESSA?!" I yelled.

_Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. _

"ALEX?"

I heard her call from a distance away and launched my body the direction of her voice.

"ANNESSA?!"

"I'm here!" even though she wasn't yelling, her voice was louder than before and I wept in relief.

I almost didn't stop after I bumped into her, but I caught her in my arms and lifted her up before she could fall to the ground. I buried my head in her neck and kissed her, pulling back to kiss her face and look at her. I swung her side to side as she wrapped her little arms around my neck and cried into my shoulder.

"What're you doi—"

My question was cut short by voices coming a little way away from behind us. I turned my head in that direction, frozen still, and moved Annessa around so she was sitting on my back; I could run faster like this.

I held her hands linked on my chest with my left hand, and twisted my right arm around so it was resting beneath her bottom and gripping her left leg; it was easy only because she was so tiny.

I didn't stop until we had reached our cave again, and I had hidden her behind a huge boulder at the back, covering our small fire with foliage and bringing all our possessions to hide behind there too. I pressed a finger to my lips to signal to her to be quiet while a light shone into the cave and searched it. For good measure, I pressed my other finger to her lips and she nodded, pressing her little hand on mine to hold my finger there.

"I could have sworn that they came up this way. Damn it," an intense voice, a male, cursed under his breath and aimed a rock at the back wall.

It bounced back off the wall and knocked Annessa on the back. Brave little thing, she just closed her eyes and bit her lip while I rubbed the pain away and kissed her cheek.

"Are you sure?" a lighter voice, a female voice, asked.

"Yes! I'm sure!"

"Don't get snappy at me or I'll floor you," she warned.

"He won't have to worry about you, baby," a deeper masculine voice said.

_I didn't think they were meant to be violent._

"Ugh! Save it for the cave, please," the first male voice complained.

I heard the woman laugh and the second man mutter something about making babies before he exclaimed an _Ow!_

"That's my sister. I don't want, nor need to know; keep it to yourself."

With that they scrambled out of the cave and I sat there, torn between fits of laughter and sobs of relief. I crept forward slowly to peer out of the cave mouth.

"Are we safe?"

I turned back to Annessa's voice and nodded.

"Yeah, sweetie. But I think we need to find somewhere new."

She nodded and hauled the bags out from behind the rock. I went to her and pulled the heavier one onto my back, and set the lighter one with her toys upon her back. She grabbed my hand and said ready when she was all set.

We made our way back through the forest towards the shop I visited earlier and I snuck around the back of the shop to where cars were hidden in the shadows. My heart stopped when I saw the white van from earlier lurking in the gloom, and I moved swiftly to the nearest car, breaking into it and jumping in.

Annessa hummed along to the song on the radio while we drove along, staring out the window and watching the stars as they slowly began to glimmer in the sky.

_Maybe hope is beginning to glimmer, too._

I drove for hours along route 19 towards Tucson, with absolutely no idea where we were going and not caring in the slightest as long as we didn't get caught.

Annessa had fallen asleep with her pretty curls cascading down her neck and chest while her head tilted onto the window. Her legs were slack and her arms were sprawled across her tummy. I pulled over when I saw there were no other cars, and got out of the car, running around to her side and quietly pulling the door open.

I picked her up in my arms after I undid the seatbelt and opened the back door. I spread her across the back seat and grabbed the soft backpack, positioning it so she could use it as a pillow. Pulling my jumper off, I draped it across her delicate body and then hooked the seatbelt around her so it would stop her from falling forward.

When I was positive she was comfy and would sleep better and longer, I shut the door, shut the passenger door and ran back around to my door, hopping in and starting off again.

_I'm glad you taught me how to drive, Daddy. Otherwise, we'd be stuffed._


	4. Birthday, purpose and need

**Birthday, Purpose and Need**

It's been three days, and we had found a hotel to sleep in with pay TV so I was happy about that; it gave Annessa something to watch and laugh at like the little girl that she is. I watched her, and felt sad. Sad because this isn't what I could give her anymore, not for any length of time anyway.

There was something else that made me extremely sad, and unbelievably scared. And I had to know.

"Annessa, baby, come her," I said softly.

She looked at me from the couch for a second before she turned away to detangle herself from the blankets. She ran over to the bed I was laying on and crawled into my lap, taking my hands in hers and clapping them together.

"Yes, Alex?" she smiled a little smile at me so I smiled back

"Sweetheart," I began. I turned my lips into my mouth to suck them for a second before and exhaled a deep breath before I continued. "The other day when I went to the shops and I asked you to stay in the cave, why didn't you?"

"I saw a bunny rabbit, and I wanted to play with him, so I chased him. I didn't know I got so far away, and I was so scared," tears started to glisten in her eyes.

"I was scared, too, baby. I was so, so scared. And I was mad, you know why?" I asked gently. I wasn't mad now, and she needed to know that; I just needed to get through to her that she can't go wandering away, whether it's because of a fluffy bunny rabbit or a nice man with an ice-cream cone.

"Because I didn't listen to you," she whispered, a tear dropping from her eye.

I brushed it away as my own eyes started to sting.

"Yes, because you didn't listen to me. Do you think I was more mad or scared, though?"

"Mad," she breathed.

I pressed my lips in a thin line and shook my head vigorously.

"I was more scared, bubby. I didn't know what happened to you. I didn't know if you were safe; what if you were hurt? I didn't know if they came and got you; I didn't know if they took you away from me. What if they had taken you away, baby? What if I never saw you again? I was so, so scared darling; don't do that again, please!" I breathed into her hair when I pulled her forward for a bear hug, my tears soaking her hair.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "I didn't mean it."

"I know you didn't, honey. I know you didn't, but it just scared me. You are my purpose for living; I don't know what I would if they took you. I love you, and I'm living for you now, baby."

I rocked her and patted her back while she had a little cry, and once she had settled again I pulled her back to look at her face and brush the tear streaks away.

"Guess what day it is?"

She looked at me uncomprehending.

I played an 'o' across my mouth and put my hands on my hips in mock disbelief. She giggled at my bad acting and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's August 23rd; it's…" I leant over the edge of the bed and grabbed the strap of the backpack, dragging it closer and opening it to pull out two presents complete with bows; I had grabbed some wrapping paper and ribbons on the trip that day and wrapped them while she was sleeping last night. "… Your birthday."

She gasped in delight as I handed her the bear which was wrapped in shiny blue paper with a silver ribbon and bow. She fiddled with the paper and I couldn't hold my smile in as she pulled the chocolate grizzly bear from the paper and cuddled him so tight I thought the eyes were going to literally pop out of its head.

"Do you like him?" I asked.

She nodded enthusiastically and said she was going to call him Brandon. I laughed and asked her why.

"Because Brandon reminds me of a bear; he's huge!" she said with wide eyes as she held her arms to her sides, stretching them as far as they would go. "And cuddly," she added.

I shook my head and beamed widely as I handed her the second gift. She took it from me and carefully unwrapped the pale pink parcel after she had detangled the gold ribbon from around it. When the white tiger fell into her lap, she picked it up and stared at it.

"It's so pretty," she whispered. "I'm going to call this one Alex."

"Why?" I inquired with a smile and raised eyebrow.

"Because she's pretty and she can be mean, too."

My smile turned into a confused frown. Frown because she said I can be mean, confused because she was smiling.

"Is that a good thing?"

"Yeah!" she said as though I were the stupidest person on earth. Maybe I was; there were not many people left.

"Why?"

"Because you're mean to people who want to hurt me; you protect me," she said plainly.

I blinked and held my arms out for her. She grabbed Brandon and Alex in her tiny hands and jumped into my lap. I enclosed my arms around her and swayed us.

"Of course Ill protect you; you're my purpose."

I pressed my lips to her forehead and swayed her to sleep. It didn't take long, not with the comfort of her huge, cuddly bear and her protective tiger; who wouldn't feel safe?

**JAMIE'S POV**

"Come on, lover boy!"

Jared aimed a pillow at me and it hit me squarely in the face.

"Piss off," I mumbled through the pillow.

He was annoying me with the whole _'lover boy'_ thing and he knew it. It wasn't the words, so much as the truth of them. I was mindlessly in love. For no reason; I just looked at her, looked in her gorgeous gray eyes, and fell in love. The end.

I couldn't be bothered to raise my hands so I just let the pillow plaster my face. Mel strode over and ripped the pillow off of my face, pegging it at Jared and then leaning over me.

"Come on. Get up," she said.

"Why?"

"Cos, we're going to the shops. You coming?"

I groaned as I pushed my self up. "Yeah."

"Or," Jared walked up behind Mel and kissed her neck. "Jamie could go, he doesn't really need help, and we could…"

I gagged silently when Mel squealed and grabbed his arms as he snaked them around her waist, dragging her backwards towards the bed.

"Jared!" she exclaimed. "NO! No, no, no. Jamie is not going out there al—"

"Chill, Mel; I'm eighteen, I can look after myself. Where's the list?"

"Here," Jared let go of Melanie and she sunk onto the bed, crossing her legs and watching us eagerly. "We only need the top half of the list; we'll get the other half in the next city."

"Why don't we just get it all so we can go home?"

"You're not gonna manage it all on your own," Jared scoffed.

I glared at him before I walked out of the room muttering, "Watch me."

* * *

I kicked all the rocks I came across, aiming them carelessly in front of me until I heard a muffled _Ow!_

My head shot up at the sound and I saw a little girl around five sitting on the ground rubbing her arm.

_Oops. _

"Sorry, sweetie. Are you okay?" I dropped to her side and looked at her face.

She nodded silently at me and stood up, walking towards the car and grabbing someone around the legs.

I looked back at the ground before I stood up, feeling like a complete bastard for hurting little girl; accidentally or not.

I decided I better go face the Momma Soul and walked around the side of the car. For a Momma she was pretty fine; her slender legs were dipped a little to bring her closer to the child's height, and the way her booty curved was absolutely awe inspiring. Her thick, chocolate curls were pulled back in a ponytail and arranged over a very nasty insertion wound; they must have cut really deep during insertion, deep enough that even the scar couldn't heal it. Her body was thin, her hips and chest curving in the most delicious hourglass shape. And her chest, from what I could see, _damn!_

Unintelligent hormones.

_She_ turned around. Her eyes met mine and I felt my face color as her eyes widened. I never realized she was a mom.

_Had she caught me staring? Oops. _I mentally kicked myself.

"Singing Sun?" she asked in her melodious voice. It was so beautiful.

I nodded my head and somehow managed to say her name. "How are you?"

"I'm… uh… I'm fine, thank you. My sister and I were just leaving."

_Ahhh, so she wasn't a mom. _

"Really? Where are you off to?"

Okay, so that sounded a bit stalkerish. Still, she smiled.

"Um, we don't know; we're just driving."

"Sounds fun. Be sure to take care of yourself," I passed my begging off as a casual goodbye.

"Will do. Bye," with that she hopped in the car and drove into the setting sun.

I turned on my feet and sprinted.

* * *

"Jared! Mel! We have to go!" I barged into the room and ducked straight back out. "Get some friggin clothes on, we're going!"

She was my purpose, and I wasn't going to lose her.

I waited impatiently in the van and took off as soon as the sick lovebirds were in.

"I'm gonna kill you, Jamie," Mel promised bitterly.

"Yeah? Well, wait until I've got her home, please," I murmured as I followed her path into the sun.

Mel looked intently at me for a minute. "You're serious, aren't you?"

I bit my lip and looked at Mel from the corner of my eye. "I need her."


	5. Savior

**I'm glad that you (Mary-Angela, lalaland(which I had to laugh at cos that's my friends nickname) and anmapamo) are enjoying it and I don't think Host stories get quite as much attention as twilight and I loved, absolutely LOVED The Host lol so I had to write something and this story plans been jumping around in my head for months so I'm finally getting it down… and I love Jamie and I thought it was sad that he never got to find his special someone… and save them lol =] Enjoy**

**5**. **Savior**

One thing I wished she didn't so was hide out in the freaking forest. She must really be uncomfortable with the rest of her kind, much like how Wanda was. She's uncomfortable or she's protecting her little sister; she was still human, her bright green eyes reflected no silver. Maybe her host was really strong, maybe she had convinced the Soul to leave her sister human.

"Jamie, Wait!" Mel shouted at me.

I turned to face her from the top of the hill I had somehow managed to hike in my dazed state.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"You friggin will be. What's so important about _her_, Jamie? I don't get it."

I glared at my sister and bit my tongue to stop a snide reply.

Melanie stopped walking and looked at me, truly looked at me. Her eyes searched mine and she sighed after a minute. "Forget it," she whispered as she walked past me and bolted up the path we had reached.

"What'd you do?" Jared asked as he whacked me across the head.

"I didn't do anything, moron," I spat at him.

"Stop being a tosser, and stop hurting Mel," he retorted.

"I'm not hurting her," I argued.

"You are; you just don't see it."

That hurt. But I didn't understand how I could be hurting Mel.

I opened my mouth to ask when a crash in the shrubbery behind us caught us of guard. Jared and I shot our heads to see what the noise was from, and froze solid when we heard the voices of the Seekers we'd been avoiding for days.

"I know they came this way. That girl and her little sister, and then more humans followed them; they might have a colony around here."

"That's not likely," another Seeker argued.

"How do you explain Harmony Song's car disappearance? And all the things that went missing from her house?"

Jared and I stared at each other as the Seekers continued to fire remarks back and forth to each other.

_She's not a rebel Soul; she's a human, _I thought with strange happiness.

"We need to get Melanie, and we need to go. Now!" Jared breathed quietly.

Without a word and without a sound we raced up the path Melanie followed. We saw her studying a map and she was taken aback as Jared ripped the map from her hands and shoved it in her bag.

"Mel, we're going," he told her.

"But I thought we were…" she trailed off, confused and gasped lightly when she heard the Seekers voices echo towards us. "Shit!"

She threw everything she had pulled out back into the back and fastened it to her back. She grabbed my hand and Jared's in both of hers and took off, hauling us behind her. Jared and I had no problem keeping up; Jared was very athletic, and I was a born runner; Mel and I had deer instincts, according to him.

I was glad Melanie had her hand glued to mine and leading me along, because I would have been lost without her; what with the way I was still searching for her.

_Where is she?_

Melanie drew us to a stop, shoving me into some kind of den covered by overhanging rocks and pushing me back with her side. Both of her hands were protecting me, one on my shoulder holding me securely to her and the other twisted with my hand, and I felt like a little child again. My breathing disrupted her hair, pushing and pulling it to and from her neck as I inhaled and exhaled. Jared pressed himself against Mel so he could fit into the space and rested a hand on my shoulder.

I heard a child cry and my heart beat faster when I realized it might be her sister; maybe they were close. I edged around Melanie, and she tightened her grip on me and widened her eyes as I crept towards the light that would reveal me to anyone watching our entrance.

"Let me go!" I breathed.

She shook her head and glared at me, looking close to tears. I rolled my eyes and fought with her hands until her fingers had uncurled.

"Jamie!" she whisper cried as she launched for me.

Jared caught her and held her back, telling her to leave me. She elbowed him the ribs but he didn't release his hold on her. When she aimed her feet, he captured her feet and pinned her against the wall. She punched the wall and watched me helplessly, yielding to Jared's gentle yet pure strength.

"Jamie… don't!" she looked so frightened I nearly ran back into her arms and let her hold me.

Nearly.

I turned my gaze away from her and carefully peeked through the opening. I heard a cry coming towards us and almost did run back into Mel's arm before I saw the little girl running down through the ferns. She would run past us, so I got ready to grab her and pull her to safety.

When she was in my reach, I leapt out quickly and enclosed her in my arms, dragging her into the cave and covering her mouth with my hand when she let a squeal of fear and surprise.

"Shhh, I'm not going to hurt you," I whispered to her.

I heard another scream before I heard them yelling.

"_There's someone in the cave!_"

"Shit!" I searched around for the first rock I laid eyes on and pegged that to the ferns at the base of the hill; hopefully they would think she fell.

I hauled her into my arms and ran back to Mel, who wrapped her arms around the child this time and held her close, shielding her with her body and giving me a sympathetic look. I nodded slightly and ducked my head onto her shoulder, watching out of the cave opening. Mel tilted her head so it was resting on mine and turned her head to kiss my cheek.

"There's no one in here," a guy's voice said.

All of us froze as a light danced less than a meter from our feet, and I felt the little girls hand wind through mine in terror. I gave her hand a little squeeze back and stroked her cheek comfortingly with one of my fingers.

"I thought there was," another deep voice said as the light vanished and we all took in slow, deep gulps of air.

"I _told_ you she didn't go in there," _her_ voice said out of the blue.

"How do we know you didn't have anyone waiting to take her?" the deeper voice asked.

"Because it's been just us for months! There is _no one_ else, you filthy worms stole the rest of my family; it _is_ only us."

The little girl started crying mutely at the sound of her sister's voice and Mel rubbed her back while I subconsciously wiped her tears.

"We won't stop until we find her."

"Well give up; I won't let you find her," she snarled.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll kill you. And don't put it past me cos I am a big bad human, after all," she spit sarcastically.

"You're outnumbered," he challenged.

"You don't fight fair," I heard her walk forward before she spoke again. "So I won't either."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm not afraid to die, not for her, and I will do anything it takes to keep her safe."

"You're bluffing."

"Call it."

It was silent for a minute before I heard her talk again. "I will go quietly, and peacefully, if you promise to leave my sister human. If you catch her, promise to leave her human."

"She could turn violent," the profound voice disputed.

"If she's not _raised_ in a violent world she _won't _be!"

Another minute of silence.

"Fine, I promise you your sister will not be harmed."

"Promise me she will stay human."

"You have my word."

I released the little girl's hands from mine and pushed myself away from Melanie again, peering around the corner carefully so I would not be seen but so I could see _her_.

Her beautiful face was flushed; her eyes were downcast and starting to shimmer with tears. Her full bottom lip was being chewed on as she fisted her hands and held them to her stomach. A silver chain caught my eye as a Seeker grabbed her wrists and pulled her forward.

I pushed Melanie completely off of me as I jumped forward to save her; there were only three Seekers, I could take them. I'm a fast runner, too, so if one ran, I could take out the other two then follow and catch him.

Jared swore under his breath and followed me, knocking one Seeker out and grabbing the other in a head lock before I punched the Seeker who had her. I didn't see until it was too late, the Seeker had stabbed her with a tranquilizer.

She looked at me as I leapt for her, trying to grab her before she hit the ground. Her hands went limp and she released a silver key from her grasp, rolling her eyes back before she collided with the forest ground.

"Alexia!"

With the Seekers under control, Melanie had released the little girl and followed her as she dropped to her sister's side, pushing the hair of her face and tapping her cheeks softly. I dropped to the little girl's side and glanced over her sister's face.

"Alex," she whispered, pressing a kiss to her sister's cheek. "Alex, wake up. Please, I need you."

**ALEXIA'S POV**

From the corner of my eye I saw him jump towards me and assault the thing that had me in their grasp. He didn't get to them before they pierced me with a drug, though.

My world went hazy, I couldn't focus on anything, but I could see him. His face turned to an expression of pain and shock as he processed what they'd done to me, and he leapt towards me in an attempt to catch me, knowing I would collapse. My fingers relaxed unwillingly on Mom's key, and it dropped to the earth with a muted thud. My eye's rolled back before my legs gave way and sent me tumbling to the ground.

"Alexia!"

I heard Annessa's voice crying for me. I felt her as she lowered herself by my side and pushed my hair away from my face. Her little hands were warm as she patted my cheeks.

"Alex," her lips were warm as she pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Alex, wake up. Please, I need you."

I heard her, I felt her, and that's all I could do; is listen and feel.

I could also feel him. I felt his hand as it brushed across my cheek. I felt his breath as he leaned into my neck to lift me into his arms. I felt his lips as they pressed tenderly to mine. I felt his chest as I rested against it, and I listened to his heart as it told me he was here for me.

I listened to his heart as it told me my savior had come.


	6. Secrets

**6. Secrets**

I opened my eyes to sunlit cracks in a cave ceiling. I blinked from the brightness, and held my body still as I looked around.

I was laying on a double mattress on the ground with a pale blue sheet pulled up to my hips and a chocolate grizzly bear resting beside my left thigh. I sat up at seized it, looking around for Annessa. I didn't see her, but quickly surveyed the rest of the room.

The doorway was covered with a heavy, think forest green blanket shielding it from outside. There was maybe two feet around the edge of the bed on the left and right side with maybe an extra foot between the doorway and the bed due to the mattress being pressed up against the back wall.

I had been laying on the right side of the mattress, and that side of the room was clear except for one of my back packs resting in the corner. On the other side, there were a few worn books, and a few pairs of jeans and shirts either hanging on a pole adjusted on the wall or rolled into a pile next to the books.

Clinging to Annessa's bear, I backed out of the room and looked either side down the long hallway. Without thinking, I took off to the left and staggered when I immersed myself in a dark corridor. I felt my way along the wall, and bumped into a solid figure.

We both _'umph'_ed, me crashing to the floor, of course. I rubbed my backside as I began to stand again until I felt hands wrap around my arms. I shrugged them off of me and bounded up, running back the way I came.

"WAIT!"

The voice was familiar, but that didn't calm me. I pushed my legs more rapidly as I burst into the light of the hallway and saw blurs of colours and textures while I bolted past them uncaringly; I just wanted to get away.

"Just… wait!" the voice called. "Alexia!"

I saw the room I was in fast approaching, and had half a mind to hide in their but I didn't because I knew I had no where to hide and no where to run in there. I gripped the teddy bear tighter in my hand while I drove my body faster.

I hit another wall of blackness and didn't slow. I heard footsteps echoing closer to me and felt closed in. I stopped and threw myself to the opposite wall, pressing my back against it as flat as it would get and fighting with my lungs to take quiet breaths.

The footfalls ran past me at a slow pace and stopped. I heard a sigh and a rock being launched against a wall and pressed my eyes and my lips shut. I took measured breaths in through my nose as the steps trailed back to me through the obscurity.

"Alexia…"

The voice was… heartbreaking.

"Alexia, please. I'm not going to hurt you. Just come here."

I edged myself slowly sideways back towards the hall; if I could gain enough distance from him, I could have a head start and run back to my room.

That plan was cut short.

I bit my lip and cursed under my breath as I kicked a rock and listened to it as it bumped its way across the ground.

"Alexia?"

I took off again. I didn't worry about my breathing now, letting my breaths come as the worried gasps that they were. Before too long, I heard a groan and felt strong arms wrap around my waist and drag me to the ground.

He rolled me onto my back and sat across my hips so I couldn't kick him and pinned my wrists to the ground.

"Was that so hard?" he asked.

I glared into the warm, sweet breath over me since I didn't have a face to scowl at. One of my hands was bound to have crescent marks forged in them while the poor teddy bear in my other hand copped the rest of my wrath.

"Get… off… of… me," I panted.

My chest was still heaving for air when he bowed over me and found my nose with his.

"You wouldn't be so breathless, or tired, if you waited the first time I called for you. Are you going to run off again?"

"I don't know, are you going to tackle me again?"

I heard him chuckle lightly before his warm scent got closer to my mouth, and I started taking shallower breaths.

"That depends on whether you run or not."

"Then, no."

"Then, no," he answered my question the same way I answered his and I felt a weak smile over power my lips.

One of his hands released my wrist to soon press down on it with his elbow. He did the same with my other wrist and I felt both of his hands cup my face. He stroked one of his fingers along my lips for a second before he pressed down further on me and I felt his lips bond with mine.

They were warmer and sweeter than his breath, and they were just as gentle as I'm sure he normally was. I fluttered my eyes closed in bliss for a second before he pulled away and hopped off of me. I blinked stupidly into the dark while his hands found my forearms and helped me up.

We walked in silence in a direction I was unsure of, and he held my hand, claiming that he didn't want me to trip.

"Uh huh, I managed fine while I ran through here blindly," I retorted while I gently tried to get my hand back

He laughed but didn't let my hand go. His soft whistles rebounded of the walls while we walked and soon I saw a light.

"I thought you might be hungry," he whispered as he released my hand and ducked into the room.

I took a second to catch my surroundings and stared back into the darkness wondering if I should run again. But then two things happened that changed my mind. The first was the wonderful smell of fresh bread and minestrone soup wafting from the open doorway; the second was the little angelic voice.

"Jamie! You're back! I saved you some soup," it chimed.

I stepped into the kitchen and searched it. I didn't need to look far, she was and arms reach away from me in _his_ arms; in Jamie's arms.

"Annessa?" I breathed. "Annessa!"

"Alex! You're awake!" my little sister literally flew from Jamie arms into mine and I squeezed her tight, swinging her around and kissing her face again and again.

"Oh, baby, you're alright! You're not hurt, or anything?" I asked as I put her on the ground and dropped to my knees in front of her.

"I'm positively perfect! Mel said that I was a really big help with the dishes last night, and Wanda, oh she's nice; you'll like her. Jeb's funny, and Jamie plays hide and seek with my in the cornfield; it's so fun, and he waited for you with me, too. He's so nice." At the end of her little rave, she beamed at me so I smiled back and tried to process everything she told me.

A warm hand enclosed around my fingers and lifted them up. I followed my hand and locked my eyes with affectionate chocolate brown.

"I don't think we've officially met, I'm Jamie," he said as I switched my gaze to his lips while they pressed a kiss to the back of my hand. I felt weak, knowing how those lips felt on mine.

"I'm Alexia," I replied unthinkingly. "But everyone mostly calls me Alex."

"What do you prefer?"

I think this has to be the first time someone has actually asked me that question.

"I don't… it doesn't bother me," I answered.

"I like Alexia; it sounds prettier," he explained.

"Okay, okay. Move over, Romeo," a woman pushed Jamie's hand away and stood in front of me.

She was tall, and athletic, and her skin was a pretty tan a shade darker than Jamie's. Her was long, hanging around her waist and was a rich dark chocolate. Her eyes were a scorching hazel colour. She looked like she had too much coffee by the way she was bouncing with a big smile plastered on her face.

"Hi, I'm Melanie but everyone calls me Mel. I'm Jamie's _older_ sister," on the word older, she stuck her tongue out at him and gave him a so-do-what-I-tell-you look.

I laughed and held my hand out to shake hers but she just pulled me onto my feet and into a hug which I returned graciously. She stood back from me and beckoned to the man on her left who had positioned his arm around her shoulders once she was beside him again.

This man was well built with darker tanned skin than either Jamie or Mel, and had sun-bleached hair and striking sienna eyes. He kissed Melanie's cheek and smiled and waved at me kindly when Mel introduced him as her husband Jared.

Melanie also beckoned around to two brothers who she introduced as Kyle and Ian. Both brothers were pale with jet black hair and striking dark blue eyes, and were equally as tall and muscular as the other.

"They also both have wives, but they're off doing some washing at the moment," Melanie told me.

"No we're not, we're here," I heard a young voice announce from behind me.

Ian and Kyle both took the baskets of laundry from the girl's arms and carried them to the table with the girl's trailing behind them. Ian picked up the tiny blonde one and kissed her sweetly before he trailed kisses down her neck to her giggles. Kyle picked up the smaller dark haired one and kissed her passionately before he set her down and laid his hand across her belly.

"Um, before you see them, there's something you have to know," Mel whispered to me.

"Oh, she'll like them even though they're some of them," Annessa said confidently.

"Some… of…" the realization pounded me in the face as I glanced up into the blonde's pretty little face and her reflective eyes. "No!"

I pulled Annessa behind me and stared at the blonde girl and the dark headed girl who had turned to face me and imitated the sunlight off her eyes as well. Ian and Kyle moved to shield their wives and stared at me warningly.

"Stay away from her. Stay away from me," I told the things as they peeked out from behind their husbands and the blonde one made a move to get around Ian.

"Wanda, no. Honey, you'll just make it worse. Baby, come on," Ian said as he made a grab for her hand.

The blonde one, Wanda, skipped forward out of his reach until she stood by Melanie's side. The two girls held hands and gazed at me compassionately.

"I know what you think of me. And I know what you think of others of my kind, of our kind," she gestured to the dark haired girl who was enclosed in Kyle's protective arms. "And I know why; they took your family, didn't they? The Seekers?"

"They broke us," I choked.

I began to cry as I backed away from her. Annessa danced free of my grip and into Wanda's side. Wanda combed her fingers through Annessa's hair lovingly, and smiled at me kindly. Jamie moved forward and clutched my hand, refusing to let go and moved closer to me to wrap his arms around my shoulders when Wanda spoke next.

"We all have secrets. We all have truths, we all have lives. Please, listen to mine."


	7. Stories

**7. Stories**

I was sitting in the cornfield under the fading afternoon sun with Annessa asleep my lap and Jamie's arms around me. He had been awake for most of the story telling, but now his head rested softly on mine as a surrogate pillow.

Across from me Wanda was laying back into Ian's chest who rubbed her arms, kissed her shoulders and played with her hair while she spoke. Melanie was lying on her back to the right of me with her head tilted to watch Wanda as Jared rested his head upon her stomach and twisted his hands with hers. To the left, Kyle's wife, who's name was Sunny, was brushing her fingers through his hair as he slept with his head in her lap and his arms reached backwards to hold her waist.

I had sat and listened to Wanda as she explained what she was and why her kind existed. She had taken me through her past lives in the Singing World, and the Flower World, and other strangely named worlds, and her experiences, both exciting and painful and how she ended up on Earth.

"I had been known for my travels through space, and Earth was one World I had never lived on; so I came here. I came here and found where I belonged."

Wanda glanced back at Ian and pressed her lips to his jaw before she continued.

"I had a lot of trouble fitting in here," she cast a meaningful glance at Mel who shrugged and laughed. "Mel was my original host, and she gave me a lot of difficulties when I was first… inserted in her. She was a very strong fighter, and because she had been so resistant, they chose me for my resilience to… change her, I guess you could say. When I first came to in her body, she hit me with the last memory she had; the memory of her attempted suicide."

I heard Mel inhale slowly and murmur something incoherent to Jared.

"They say the last memory is always the worst, but it was nothing compared to the memories she shot at me about her love and her baby brother; Jared and Jamie. She was very attached to them, she would fight for them until she had nothing left to do but die for them, and so that's what she tried. I thought that it was normal to have a little presence of your host, especially if they were an adult, but Mel scared me because she was so… _there_. After a while, you were supposed to be sole, on your own in your mind; not have the host still lingering. But that's just what Mel did, she lingered. We argued, we challenged and she fought like mad, and she didn't play fair."

"Still doesn't," Jared complained.

All of us who were awake chuckled a little before Wanda continued.

"She dreamt of Jamie one night when it was his birthday, and this was at a time where I was in line with Seekers,—"

I froze at the name.

"—even though we had the worst one following us. Mel's grief really got through to me, and I learnt to love Jamie and Jared through her memories, so she was able to convince me to go looking for them. So that's what we did; we packed up, and we left. We started hiking, and I half listened to Mel, half listened to my body, our body, as we trekked across that god forsaken desert following those bloody lines Jeb gave Mel a while before."

"I could have killed him, and you didn't need as much water as often as you drank it, Wanda. I told you that. And you know my body had been through worse, you've seen it," Mel pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I didn't listen," Wanda laughed. "Eventually, after all the water had gone, and after running into an abandoned house with nothing but stale crackers and a couple of bottles of water in it, we gave up and laid down to die. We grew a lot during that journey, and by the time we had accepted death, we were close friends. I suppose you could even call us sisters."

Wanda and Mel smiled at each other before Mel sat up and crossed her legs, resting her elbows on her knees and dropping her head onto her hands. Jared watched her until he was sure she wouldn't move again and rearranged himself so he could lay his head in her lap. He put his hand on Mel's arms and she looked down at him, smiling and dropping her arms so they were swathing his chest.

Ian had also moved so he was lying in Wanda's lap and looking up at her. He hooked one arm, around her back and the other around her legs before she continued. "That's when they all found us, and that's when heaven and hell both truly began. When we got back to the caves, Jared saw us, and we saw him, and Mel's excitement over took me and she ran forward. Jared… ah… wasn't so happy to see us. We ended up being held prisoner in a little hole and Jared and Jeb took turns guarding us. We were almost killed a few times, and Jeb and Jamie were the only friends we had. I still remember Jamie after you went on that raid, Jared. If you weren't sop fond of him, you probably would have killed him," Wanda laughed.

I looked at Jamie out of the corner of my eye and smiled as Jared replied, "Yeah, probably."

"You wouldn't have been stupid enough," Mel said icily.

"Definitely not, baby," Jared said as he grabbed her hands and kissed them. "I never would have."

"Damn straight."

"_Anyway_," Wanda laughed. "Jamie and I became really close because he loved Mel so much, and he believed she was still there; he talked to her through me, and I told him things she wanted to be able to tell him. I grew to love him as my own brother, as I grew to love Mel as a sister, and Jamie welcomed me. When I say me, I mean me as a soul rather than the return of his sister's body. He saw the differences in us, and he loved us unconditionally for those differences. I told him stories of my worlds, stories of my lives. By opening up to him, I made it easier for him to open me up to the rest of the then humans. That was until Jared, Ian, Kyle and a couple of the other boys got back. It took longer for them, but Ian eventually got over his brutal nature towards me and became protective of me; he began to love me."

Wanda took a breath and looked down at her husbands face, smiling and stroking his cheek tenderly.

"Kyle tried to kill me once, and Ian wasn't too happy about that. Jared… well, Jared loved Mel, and in doing so, loved me. He loved me for Mel. It pained him when I had to hurt myself to save Jamie when he was sick, that's how much he loved Mel, because it was Mel getting hurt. A couple of other things happened, and I showed Doc how to remove souls so that Jared and Mel could be together again. I wasn't supposed to come back, but Ian was so in love with me, and Mel and Jamie, and Jared too, they were so faithful to me that they brought me back to be with them; to be a part of their family. So that's it; I have my sisters, my brothers, and my husband. I have my family; I am where I'm meant to be. This is my truth, this is my life."

I watched my sisters face as I let Wanda's words sink in, but something was bugging me.

"Before, when you said 'the then humans', what did you mean?" I asked quietly.

"They were humans then, they were frightening, and intimidating; they weren't what I was. But now I am human, I am what they are."

"What about Sunny?"

. "I learnt to love Kyle through Jodi's memories, and my love for him grew as well. We love each other, and we've vowed that," her hushed voice answered.

"So is that your secret?"

"Is what our secret?" Wanda asked bemused.

"Turning your back on your species, is that your secret?"

Wanda surveyed me for a minute before she answered.

"I don't think we've turned our back on our species, Alexia, I think we just found where we belonged. But, I see where you're coming from, and I do understand. It was, in all truthfulness, an intricate decision to make when we ran away; I knew where it would lead me, and I'm glad I listened to Mel."

I nodded, and Jamie's head fell onto my shoulder. I shifted a little to make it more comfortable for him and laid Annessa on the ground beside me, trailing my fingers up and down her tummy.

"What about you, Alex? What's your story?" Mel asked me.

I frowned and bit my lip before I started.

"About eight months ago, it was my brothers twenty-first birthday. He wanted to go hiking, so Dad took him out for the day to the ranges and they sought out a nice, long challenging path.," I began.

"Twenty-one? And he didn't drink?" Jared asked.

"No," I laughed. "No, he was very family orientated with my parents, Annessa and I, we were his world, like he, Annessa and our parents were mine, and we were quite literally a happy little family. Mom and I had planned a little surprise party for him, and we had almost finished setting up a few hours before they were due home when Mom got a phone call off of dad. I stood there, staring at my Mom's face while she was talking to him, she looked horrified, and angry; I've never seen her so mad."

I let myself sink into the memory as I retold it…

"_Where's Brandon?" Mom had asked Dad. _

_She listened to his answer and nodded her head as she watched us girls. _

"_What's wrong, Alex?" Annessa asked me as she tugged on my hands. _

_I tore my eyes away from my mother and looked at her. "I don't know, baby."_

_But I knew, I knew exactly what was wrong, but I wouldn't tell her. She didn't need to know yet; she didn't need to start being frightened yet. _

"_Be careful. David, no matter what happens, I love you. I will always love you," Mom whispered into the phone as her eyes began to moisten. _

_When my Dad told her that she was his world and his life, and his one true love like he always did, Mom's tears began to run as she heartlessly pulled the only connection she had left to him away. _

_Then she looked at me with her inherited gray eyes and nodded. I dropped Annessa's hands and ran to my room, Annessa's room and Brandon room; collecting all the clothes us girls would need and all the bags to carry them and food and water. _

_When the clothes were packed into two of the bags tightly, I made my way hurriedly back to the kitchen. I threw the clothes bags onto the ground, and aimed a bag at Mom so that we could start stuffing the food and drink that she had chucked onto the kitchen table. _

"_We need to go far away. The Seekers closed in, they got Dad," she said as she whimpered again. _

"_Mommy, Mommy, where are we going?" Annessa danced around my mother and me in our haste, and it was all we could do not to trip over her. _

"_Annessa, baby, sit and do not move! We're going away for a holiday, but you have to let me and Alexia pack, okay?" my mother picked her up and sat her on a chair. _

"_A holiday? Yay!" Annessa squealed. "But what about Daddy and Brandy?"_

_I ached for the innocence in her tiny voice, completely unaware of the reality. _

"_They can't come, baby. They're too far away," my mother's voice was quiet as we started packing again, tears flowing down our faces silently and subtly wiping them away, chewing on our lips to keep our grief from the naive fair-haired child watching with excitement for the new journey ahead. _

"_Come on. Let's go," Mom breathed as she took us girls by the hands and led us outside. _

_I took the bags off of Mom and loaded them in the boot while she settled my sister into her stool on the back seat. _

_Annessa hummed tonelessly behind us as my mother and I watched the peacefully crowded streets we were leaving behind. Tears flowing down our faces wordlessly as we left our life and our men behind. _

"And, so, Mom ran with us. We took shelter wherever we could find it, but we never lingered long, afraid that we would be caught," I whispered as I watched my hands twisting in my laps.

My eyes stung as I blinked tears free, and I reached up to wipe them away but a warm hand accomplished it first, gently pushing my hand away while he wiped the tears from my face.

"That must have been hard. Where's your mum though?" Jamie soft breath spoke in my ear and I fought back at shiver at his voice.

"She surrendered herself for us about two weeks ago. I thought it was hard to run with Mom without Dad and Brandon, but it was harder when I had to be the adult; when I had to be fearless for her," I looked down at my sisters face and stroked her cheek.

"And then, we found you," Jamie whispered.

"Yeah. You found us, and you saved us. And now there are places I can hide and grieve and show my fear again. But at the same time, I'm happy," I told them.

Jamie reached an arm around me to comb his fingers through Annessa's hair. "Maybe we should take her back to bed; story time looks like its tired her out."

I nodded in agreement and went to lift her up but Jamie shook his head at me and raised her into his arms. I held the back of his shirt as we walked silently through the dark and listened to his heart like I would listen to his story.


	8. Family

**Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about The Key, I'm just a little bit of a block atm and it's hectic around my place because my brother, his wife and my niece are coming up for three weeks so I won't be able to work on it much ~cries~ I like my stories, they absorb me and occupy my head most of the time and they are my own little way of saying "butt out and leave me the hell alone, I don't wanna talk to you and look at that I'm busy, such a shame"… lol Nonetheless, I'll work on it and update as much as I can, I just want to get more people for this than Waxing Moon which I don't think will ever happen, I actually like this story better but the other one is dominating it, so sad… Anyway lol Gotta love Family. Enjoy =]. **

**8. Family **

I lay on the left side of my body on my side of the bed, Jamie laid on his right side on the opposite side and Annessa lay between us, completely out to the world.

I don't know if he was watching Annessa sleep or watching me watching her sleep, but when an involuntary tear dropped he would reach out to brush it away.

"What's your story?" I asked him quietly after a while.

I gazed at Annessa while I spoke, running my fingers up and down her arms and tucking her hair away from her face. He was soundless for a while, but when he spoke his voice was gentle.

"Mel took me and ran when we figured out that our parents were Souls. I was only nine when we left, Mel was only fifteen. It was just us for a while, running and hiding, her raiding and bringing me back food. Jared caught her when she was raiding once, and he thought she was a Soul so he held a knife to her throat. Mel wasn't really happy about that. When he figured out she was human, he kissed her and Mel," Jamie broke of chuckling a little. "Mel aimed her knee and kicked him and bolted. He caught her again and they kinda sorted things out. Jared wouldn't let her go though, he wouldn't let her disappear; he said he would follow her even if she told him not to."

"He was that determined?" I asked amusedly.

"Oh, yeah," he grinned. "He was more determined than I was this morning when I was chasing you. I tell you what, you're fast, and that's something coming from me cos I'm a born runner."

I laughed quietly and shook my head, looking into his warm eyes for the first time since we lay down. "Survival instincts; I didn't know I was safe."

"Would you have believed me if I said that too you before you took off?"

"Probably not," I admitted. "It would have made me run faster."

"I thought so," he said while he shook his head lightly. "I'm surprised you didn't fall over actually."

"I'm not lying when I say I was surprised, too. Now, what happened after Mel met Jared?"

"They came back to the cave. I saw Melanie walking and ran to her. She said she brought someone home with her, but when I looked in his direction, his back was to me and all I saw was the scar, so I ran. I was running so fast, even Mel couldn't catch me, but I slowed down when I came to a dead end in the cave and turned to face him…"

_I turned to look at the Soul my sister brought home._

Is she even my sister anymore? _I wondered._

"_I'm not going to hurt you, Jamie," he said. _

_I went to jump past his side but he caught me and floored me, pinning my arms to my side and kneeing my chest to keep me down. _

"_Jamie! What are you doing?" Melanie asked worriedly._

"_You promised if you got caught you would never come back, Mel. You promised," I whimpered, afraid of the man holding me captive. _

"_Jamie, honey, we're still human; look!"_

_Mel flashed a light in her eyes and her hazel eyes stared down at me, no silver, no reflection, just her hazel eyes. The man held still while she showed me his clear liquid sienna eyes. _

"_The scar?"_

"_He did it to himself so he could blend in. Baby, we're still human. And I promised you I would never come back if I was one of them, and I will keep that promise," Mel said as she tapped the mans leg so he moved and pulled me into her embrace. _

"_Jamie, this is Jared. He found me when I was raiding and we'll be staying together from now on. Jared, my little brother Jamie," Mel gestured between us as she gave her introductions. _

_I looked up at the man who was smiling at me kindly. _

"_You've got a miraculous sister," he said as he turned his smile towards Melanie. _

_I nodded mutely and buried my face in my sister's chest, seeking her guard. _

"We spent the next couple of years with Jared. He and Mel were really close, I could see that they loved each other, and I looked up to Jared as an older brother and mentor eventually. Melanie told him about lines that our Uncle drew for us, so Jared and I followed them and we ended here while she searched for our cousin. That's when she was caught and, well, you can piece the rest together with Wanda's tale."

I nodded my head at the closing of his speech and moved my body to lie down.

"Are you a family here?"

"Yes," he answered. "Though we're not a family because of my sisters and brothers, and cousins and friends; we're a family because we stay together and we're devoted to each other, like you are with Annessa."

"I used to have a family once, a long time ago now," I reflected.

"We all did, but we can only cherish what we have now," he said quietly as he reached over and caressed my cheek. "We're your family, if you want."

I closed my eyes at Jamie's touch and swallowed. "I'm so tired," I said neutrally.

Jamie snickered a little. "You'd think after three days you wouldn't be, but obviously some tranquilizers do that to you."

"_Three days?!_" I flung my eyes open and stared at him. "I was asleep for _three_ days?"

He tried holding a smile back as he nodded in confirmation and I just aimed my gaze up to the roof.

"I don't believe that."

"Well believe it," he smirked.

He braced his arm beside me while he shifted his weight to get up. His face was near enough to mine that I could reach my hand up to hold him there while I kissed him.

"Get some rest, you need it," he whispered as he ducked his head to my astonishment and gently pushed his soft lips into my cheek.

I bit my lip as he pulled back and stood up, walking out the door and turning around to smile at me once more before he let the heavy blanket fall back into place. I licked my lips and touched my face where his lips had just been, never removing my gaze from where he had vanished.

_He doesn't know what he's doing to me. _

**JAMIES POV**

_She doesn't know what she's doing to me._

My tongue shot out to run across my lips, searching for some proof that they had just touched her. I made my way through the gloom, not knowing where my feet were going until I bumped into someone.

"Shit, sorry!" I said to whoever it was.

"Ahhh… that's okay Jamie," Wanda's little voice giggled.

I reached my hands out, searching for her in front of me. "Where are you?"

I felt her hands hit mine and jump away before they came back and grasped them, both of us laughing.

"I'm here," she said unnecessarily.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where are you heading?"

"I dunno," I replied smartly.

She laughed at my intelligence before she said anything. "Well, I'm doing some dishes that were from this morning, I could use some muscle."

"Sure," I responded.

I draped an arm across her shoulders and we took of skipping through the dark again. We were singing and laughing so loud I'm sure they could hear us from Doc's nest.

"How's Alexia?" Wanda asked as we stepped into the empty kitchen and collected all the dishes. Besides me and Annessa when she was worried about or cranky at her sister, Wanda was the only one that called her by her proper name.

"She's a little tired still from the drug but, other than that, fine, I guess. I think she just needs some time to adjust to everything," I shrugged.

Wanda nodded and wrapped her tiny arms around my waist, resting her head on my shoulder. I dropped my chin onto the top of her pretty hair and hugged her back.

"Give her time; she'll fit in and you will be together."

I pulled away from her and looked at her. To my confusion, she had a wide smile fixed on her face and was patting my arms understandably.

"Wanda… what… how did you know?" I stuttered.

She only smiled kindly at me now and shrugged out of my hold to stand closer and hold my face in her little hands. "I see the way you look at her; it's the same way Jared looks at Mel, the same way Ian looks at me."

"She… Wanda… she'll…" I stopped talking, having absolutely nothing to say.

"You don't see the way she looks at you when you're not looking at her; I do. And she has that same look in her eyes that I feel when I look at Ian, that I see when Melanie looks at Jared. It's there, Jamie; just give her a little time."

Wanda dropped her hands from my face and put the rest of the dishes in the basket, turning and giving me puppy dog eyes when she had finished so I lifted the basket into my arms and followed her in silence to the wash room.

I helped my sister unload, wash, and reload the dishes while she sang harmoniously to whatever tunes whisked through her mind. She splashed me a few times with the water, so I lightheartedly returned her game. She squealed each time the water smacked her in the face and giggled before she hit it back to me.

The dishes took no time to be cleaned, but we spent about twice as long drenching each other in the dark and by the time we left, our clothes were saturated and our hair hung in thick, sopping ropes around our faces. Wanda and I both laughed openly when we saw each other in the light, and a lot of our family turned to see what was so entertaining and smirked when they saw us, shaking their heads before turning back to their work.

When Wanda and I reached the kitchen, we stacked the dishes on the long bench so that they could dry and got ourselves our drink, sitting at the table and getting lost in our own thoughts; Wanda's was Ian, and mine was Alexia.

"What did you do?" Melanie's squeaky voice interrupted us from our reveries and we flicked our heads in her direction.

Mel and Jared were standing in the doorway, hands interlocked and mouths hanging open in hilarity. Ian was with them and walked straight over to Wanda and cuddled her.

"I didn't realize we had a water fight, I woulda joined in," Jared laughed as he pulled Mel with him when he walked forward to grab a bag of chips from the one of the cupboards we got our hands on in a raid years ago.

He dumped the bag of chips on the table in front of me so I seized it and opened it, shoveling a handful of chips into my mouth before Jared could steal the packet off me.

"_Oi_, little brother, surrender," Jared mock threatened as I pushed another chip past my lips.

"Or…" one more chip. "… What?" I pushed.

Jared looked at me for a second before he leapt over the table and pinned me to the ground. Melanie and Wanda laughed and began munching on the chips as they watched us wrestle in jest.

"One big happy family."

I looked up at Alexia's voice and hopped up, running to her and pulling her into my arms. She let out a little squeal and giggle as my wet clothes seeped through hers and she wrapped her arms back around me much to my contentment.

"Yeah, one big happy family," I breathed into her soft hair.


	9. Games and Star Gazing

**9. Games and Star Gazing**

"Go to the game room and we'll play soccer," Jared called as he and Mel dashed from the room hand in hand to dig up a soccer ball.

I turned my face towards Alexia. "Up for a game?"

She smiled her gorgeous smile at me and waggled her eyebrows. "Yeap."

"Cool, let's go. Come on Wanda, Ian," I said to the couple as they sat there kissing each other sweetly. "Make out session is ov_er_!"

I upturned a container of water over their heads to Alexia's and Annessa's delight. I dropped the container into the sink and dashed past Alexia, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with me as I scooped Annessa into my other arm and ran with them before Ian could catch me.

"IAN'S GOING TO KILL YOU, JAMIE!" I heard Wanda laugh while I chuckled and kept running.

Alexia kept up easily with me, laughing along with me. This only made me grin and whoop more. When we entered the room, I stood the girls in the middle and told them to wait there.

"I'm gonna get Ian again before he gets me," I explained to her. She smiled and laughed lightly, and I thought it was at my plan.

That was before I heard him drone behind me.

"Too late."

"Oh, _shit_!" I turned to tackle him but he jumped me before I even saw him.

Ian wrapped me in a headlock and dropped me to the ground, so I pushed my shoulder into him and swung one of my legs around to trip him at the same time. I twisted out of the headlock and launched myself away from him as he went for me again then leapt back to grab his arms and hold them behind his back. Ian somehow flipped me onto my back and grabbed me in another headlock when Wanda strode over to us and smacked her husband on the arm.

"Leave him alone, Ian," she told him.

Ian dropped me into a heap on the floor and lifted Wanda up effortlessly.

"What about you? Can I rough and tumble with you?"

"_Ian!_" Wanda squealed at his insinuation as he lowered her onto the ground and laid over her, kissing down her neck and across her shoulders.

I got up, dusting myself off from my match, laughing at Ian and screwing my nose up at what he had said to my sister while I searched for Alexia.

"What're you doing?"

I circled to see her standing within my reach and smiled at her kindly.

"Looking for you," I answered truthfully.

I thought I saw her blush but she dipped her head so I wasn't entirely sure. I took a small step forward and reached a hand out slowly, touching my fingers beneath her chin and coaxing it up to look at me.

"How good are you at soccer?"

She smiled lightly and shrugged. "Good enough that my brother and I had good matches."

Wanda came and led Annessa back towards the kitchen to prepare food for the next day while we formed teams.

I grinned at Alexia, "Then let's play."

**ALEXIA'S POV**

I crouched low to the ground, ready to spring forward when the ball was launched.

Melanie kicked the ball forward, and Jared and I took off after her to support her while we made our way to our goals. Ian was on Jared, Kyle was on Mel, and Jamie was on me. All three boys tried to seize the ball when their defenses obtained it, and all three failed as Mel, Jared and I passed it to each other.

Jared kicked the ball to me when we were near our goals, and I caught it between my feet, pivoting over it to stop it and aiming it towards the goals. I booted it hard and it flew, scoring us a goal to bring us to a tie (five to five) just as Jamie slid across the ground and knocked my feet. He sent me off balance halfway through my victory jump and I fell on top of him, knocking the air from both of us.

"You alright?" Jamie laughed as he got us both to our feet.

I nodded while I laughed along with him. "I'm good. Sorry."

"Nah, that's cool." He jogged of to the centre line again and I sauntered after.

When the ball was kicked off again, Ian and Kyle grabbed the ball and Jamie sat himself on the floor for the thirty seconds it took the brothers to wind up the field and score easily.

"Last round; it's late and we still need to work tomorrow," Sunny called. Since Sunny was pregnant, she had played our score keeper and referee, though we didn't really need one.

The ball was brought back to centre point, and Jamie and I bent our knees and held them with our hands as we challenged each other lightheartedly.

"You're gonna lose," he mouthed to me.

I shook my head at him, laughed quietly and mouthed, "Speak for yourself, weakling."

When the ball started rolling, Mel rushed forward and guarded it with her feet, kicking it sideways to Jared or me when a threat approached. When she realized she wouldn't be able to get the goal smoothly with Kyle tracking her, she passed it to me and I aimed it straight at the goals without stopping it to line it up. We scored and cheered so loud it reverberated off the walls and rung in our ears.

"And… game!" Sunny called.

Sunny whistled and called the game to an end, eight to six in our favour. Mel, Jared and I all knocked fists together and did a little victory dance while the other guys just walked past saying they were gonna knock us dead next game; they were just going easy cos I was new and on that team.

"Sure, sure," I snorted. "You're just a sore loser, Jamie, admit it," I teased.

I patted him on the chest as he walked up to me and he caught my hand in his as I went to let it drop back down to my side.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not; what are you gonna do about it?" he asked mischievously.

I shook my head and ran my free hand through my hair while I chewed on my lip for lack of a witty reply. Without a word, Jamie lifted me into his arms and started running with me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and shoulders and looked at him in horror.

"I want to show you something," he said to me softly as he sped through the dark.

**JAMIE'S POV**

Her face was beautiful to watch as I deposited her on the cool night sand, the moon bouncing back from her hair and her eyes glimmering wonderfully.

"Jamie… It's beautiful," she breathed.

"Sure is," I breathed.

She turned and looked at where we had exited from and raised an eyebrow.

"We're living beneath this?" she asked as she flicked her hand to the cave mouths direction.

"It's keeping us alive, isn't it?" I asked.

She nodded silently and then smiled; looking up at me and opening her mouth as if she were going to say something but then closed it again. She looked away from me for a second then started over.

"It's just so smart, they'd never think of it." She sounded so elated I found it hard not to smile and reach for her hand.

Her skin was soft and beautiful, and I ways forever trying to find excuses in my head to touch her.

_Just touch her; you know you want to_, little fiend Jamie coaxed.

Little seraph Jamie quarreled, _She's a beautiful woman and she deserves respect_.

I rolled my eyes internally at them as my devil and angel continued to bicker and realized too late I'd actually rolled my eyes.

"What?" Alexia asked hesitantly, pulling her hand away but looking like she hated to do it.

I held her hand firmer in mine and shook my head, smiling a little and pulling her closer to me. "Nothing."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at me skeptically so I sat down on the sand and tugged on her hand till she sat beside me.

We sat silently for a while, and I noticed her playing with her silver key that Annessa had collected and replaced on her sister's neck when she was asleep. Figuring it had something to do with her family; I left my questions alone and decided to wait for something about keys to come up so I could ask.

_Maybe that way I wouldn't come off as such a pervert, anyway. _

I leant back onto the sand and pulled Alexia down with me so she was lying beside me and resting her head on my arm. I let my hand fall onto her arm and just laid there, watching her watch the stars.

**ALEXIA'S POV**

I was rather comfy in Jamie's arms, comfier than I should have been anyway. The wind was a warm summer breeze and the sand was cooler the deeper you buried your feet in. I watched the stars and picked out Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra in the constellations. And sure enough, I was soon making images of Jamie's face out of the stars, too.

"What are you thinking about?" his voice was soft, gentle.

"Nothing. I'm just… watching the stars," I replied tranquilly.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?"

"They are. I've never seen them so bright. I suppose the vacancy of bright city lights helps though," I chuckled lightly.

I felt his chest shiver as he laughed silently beside me and, from the corner of my eye, trailed my eyes down his body.

_Bad, bad, bad mistake. _

His shirt had moseyed up his stomach to his naval, and it revealed the handsome toned skin and his pants were balanced on his hips above his smooth skin; I could see between the material of his pants and where his stomach lowe—

"Are you cold?"

His voice shocked me back to reality and I metaphorically kicked myself repeatedly.

"No. Why?" I probably sounded blunt, but there's nothing I could do about that now.

"Cos you're shivering, that's why." He held his arm where it was but moved so he was looking into my face. And penetrating my heart.

I blinked at him, trying to shake all thoughts of him naked with me out here out of my head. I looked away from him when I felt myself going red and shivered again.

"Come on," Jamie muttered as he stole me into his arms. "I think it'd be close to sleep time anyway."

"Jamie, I can walk," I said as I flattened my hands against his chest, pettily pretending to want to get down.

"It's okay, this way will be quicker."

When he refused to release me, I grumbled a, "Whatever", but deep, deep down, I was singing and dancing in total enchantment to be this close.

I rested my head on his shoulder and listened to him breathing as he took us back to our room.


End file.
